Echinostelium

Echinostelium is a genus of slime mould, and the only genus in the family Echinosteliaceae, or Echinosteliidae. It was discovered by Heinrich Anton de Bary in 1855, apparently near Frankfurt am Main. Some species of Echinostelium have a sexual life cycle; others have been shown to be asexual. The plasmodium can divide vegetatively, in a process called plasmotomy, to distinguish it from true cell division.